Doyel: Her season lost to cancer, Roncalli athlete runs one last race — for Audrey

INDIANAPOLIS — This whole thing, it started on the fifth floor at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health. That’s the oncology ward. This whole thing, it started in Room 6. That’s where Audrey was.

The two girls had never met, didn’t know each other, but they had so much in common. They had hiking and camping. They had community service. Photography. Cross-country running. Cancer.

Kathleen Soller went down the hall with a deck of Uno cards. A nurse at Riley had told her about the girl in Room 6. Her nam­e was Audrey.

By the time Kathleen got to Room 6, Audrey was packing up. She was leaving the fifth floor, leaving Riley. Kathleen had learned about her too late. Audrey was going home.

When Audrey Lupton died six weeks later, Kathleen attended the memorial service at the Historic Landmarks Center. That’s where Kathleen learned how much they had in common. The outdoors. The photography.

The running.

Kathleen and her mom, Joanne Soller, left the memorial in silence.

“We both got in the car and started crying,” Joanne says. “I told Kathleen: ‘It’s like listening to them talk about you.’ She said: ‘I know.’”